from which cars can i get the spindles from? other than Versailles and aftermarket and which rotors/calipers would be good(i mean off other vehicles not new) i saw a couple of good parts cars at a junkyard thanks
Versailles rear discs are really not all that great. Your only other option (other than Versailles and aftermarket) would be to swap in a Ford Explorer 8.8-inch rear-end with the rear discs...
all i want from a versailles would be the spindles how hard would it be to get the explorers rear in there? i think my uncle has one sitting in his yard
I about to try it, but my understanding is that the rear disc brakes off of the early years of Lincoln Mark VII's will fit most any 8 or 9 inch ford rear end. I'm going to be taking the brakes off an '84 Mark VII and putinng them on my '77 Maverick. My daughter will be driving a Maverick with 4-wheel, manual disc brakes. You are not getting the "spindles" for the rear axle for disc brakes; you are primarily getting the mounting plates for the calipers. The mounting plates mount on the end flanges, behind the axle mounting surface. The rear disc goes over the axle mounting plate like your drums. Several outfits offer conversion kits for the ford rear ends. They go anywhere from reasonable to outragious, depending on what you choose.
Good luck. There is you-pull-it yeard by my house. They get in about one Mark VII per month (I can check their current inventory of cars on their web site). By the time I get there, the rear disc brakes are already gone. The 5.0's and AOD's are still in them, but the rear discs are gone. Same thing with Granadas and their front spindles. Dang Mustang guys.
Some info you may be able to use. The Lincoln rear calipers have screw in pistons that are use to set a clearence between the pads and the disks. This is a must as they don't ride on the disc like the fronts do. The correct setting allows the emg brake levers to travel off it's stop about 1/4" before beginning to operate the piston. The clearence setting on the pads and this function are directly related. The EMG brakes may be a problem to hook up to the cabin pull bar.. The master cylinder must be a type that has a larger fluid capacity per stroke due to the amount of fluid the disc calipers require at all 4 wheels. The front to rear application bias must be set with an adjustable control valve in the rear line and tested until the best braking is found. It all has to be done with workmanship and design care due to the importance of the function.
The easiest disc brake conversion for the rear is to do what all the street rod guys do.They use a Cadillac rear disc set up.I looked into it but,I like to keep everything Ford.Apparently it uses the same adjustment style as the Lincoln,but for some reason it hooks up easier.Also,the calipers must be in short supply because so many people are doing the conversion,sort of like the short supply of Granada spindles.If I remember correctly,it uses the Lincoln rotor with a custom bracket,and the SeVille caliper bolts right up.It has a little arm on the back with a rachet mechanism,everytime you put on the emergency brake it just barely turns the piston which tightens up the clearance about a few thousandth's.Street rodders like the Maverick 8" rear because it is one of the narrowest ones ever made.
thanks guys i'm going to do a little more research before taking on this project there sure are alot of lincoln in the yards over here but they're also alot of mustang guys
These are the easiest conversions, but depending on choice, will cost between $700 and $1000 to do. http://www.mpbrakes.com/reardisc.htm http://www.stainlesssteelbrakes.com/products/search/
yep those look like a good kits but i'm trying to do it for under $400 since my drums are no good nomore i might just get some new drums -since it has disks in the front
Personally I have Front chevy s10 calipers and frt jeep cherokee rotors on the rear of mine.It stops good but no e brake. Onmy brothers car we did the explorer rear disc swap. Parking brake was a breeze to hook.Used stock cables. I am gonna do this on mine
I've done it 2 different ways. Exploder and S10. The S10 was cheaper of the 2. If you do the exploder style: Get the brackets, rotors, flex lines, calipers, and anything else you think you'll need. You'll have to drill out the bracket holes to 3/8" (they're 9mm I think factory...a hair smaller than 3/8" for sure), but that's no problem. They bolt right up to the 8" housing ends. The rotors go right on as well. The calipers...well, you'll have to remove the axle clamp u-bolts to get the lower caliper bolt in because the leaf spring is in the way. I ended up having to shorten the lower bolt because it was REAL close to the spring (less than 1/16"). That's about it. You'll also have to build new brake lines for the axle as the drum hard lines are too long and the fittings are different, IIRC. Not a problem though if you know how to use a double flaring tool. I never got around to hooking up the E-brake cables, so I couldn't tell you about those. Most importantly, the caliper brackets are thicker than the drum backing plates, so the axle bearing and axle moves back & forth inside the housing end about .200" (going off of memory of course). You can remedy this by having a couple spacers made up to go in between the bearing and the caliper bracket. The S-10 route was easy. I bought NEW rotors for a 4wd mid 80's S-10 as well as new loaded calipers. Then I had to buy/build the brackets that hold the calipers to the axle housing...I made them out of 3/8" thick steel. They come in 2 versions, bolt-on and weld-on. I kind of made both in one...bolted, and welded on the backside. Down side is, there's no E-brake provision (no problem on a race car). The brackets are available from most circle-track suppliers (Day motorsports, Speedway, etc) for around $20 for the pair. I used the GM rotors as well...just drilled them for the smaller ford bolt circle. I used an old axle with the studs removed to mark/drill the holes. Either way, you'll need an adjustable proportioning valve and a new master cylinder. Don't waste your time on the SVO/MKVII MC, they don't work any better than your stocker does. You'll want to get a MC from a '87-'93 Dodge 1/2 ton pickup....doesn't matter whether for power or manual brake (they're the same MC) and drill the mounting holes out to 3/8". So far, it's the only MC I've found that actually works.....and BTW, it's the exact same MC that Wilwood and others sell for $150+. Available at parts houses for $30 or thereabouts--BUT, the parts house MC doesn't come with a reservoir, so either get one from a JY or from Dodge. The JY was my preference (less than $1) The S-10 route, cost (at the time) around $125 with new MC and all of the brackets, rotors, calipers, hoses. Probably higher now, but still cheap considering the advantages of rear discs. BTW, the rotors are large...11" IIRC (the explorers are 11.25 IIRC). I bought the explorer rear end pretty cheap as well, but they use solid rotors rather than the S-10's vented rotors, and the Exploder rotors are notorious for cracking. They do work pretty good though, so the choice is yours. 'Course you could always spend $1000 for Aerospace brakes...or Wilwood...or SSBC, whichever you prefer. Even then, it's not a "true" bolt on (is anything?). Do a search for "explorer rear discs"...I posted pics a while back about how everything fit.
